Ticket issuing machine



Nov.4,19 5 2 REEL-slap 6 6 5 0 TICKET j ISSUING MACHINE e Sheet s-Shet 1 Filed May 24, 1949 INVENTOR.

REUBEN H. HELSEL ATTORNEY Nov. 4,1952 R. H. HELSEL 2,616,500

TICKET Issumc MACHINE 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 24, 1949 I J h i i IIQVENTOR.

REUBEN H. HEL SEL ATTORNE RxH. HE'LSEL TICKET ISSUING MACHINE vMW. 4, 1952 Filed May 24, 1949 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 ATTORNEYS Nov. 4, 1952 R. H. HELSEL' ,616,500.

3 TICKET ISSUING MACHINE Filed May 24,. 1949 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 FIG. 4.

ATTORNEYS 2: R H. HELSEL fi fi TICKET ISSUING MACHINE 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR. REUBEN H. HELSEL FIG-9. BY, I

- AZW ATTORNEY Filed May 24, 1949 Nov. 4, R. H. HELSEL' 2,616,500

TICKET ISSUING MACHINE e Sheets-Shae e INVENTOR. REUBEN H. HELSEL ATTORNEYS i atented Nov. 4,

TICKET ISSUING MACHINE Reuben H. Helsel, Long IslandiCity, N. Y., as-

signor to General Register Corporation, Long Island City, N. Y., a corporation .of New York Application May24, 1949, Serial No. 95,054

6 Claims.

This invention relates to a ticket issuing machine and while of more general application is particularly adapted to machines of the handpowered type.

Particularly in'the case of ticket issuing machines which are to be operated by the publ c rather than skilled operators, it is necessary that the'machlne should beof a type susceptible to fool-proof operation. Such machines, for example, are those which are adapted to be released for operation by insertion of .a coin and then manually manipulated by actuation of .a leveror the like :to issuea ticketor transfer wheninstalled on a bus, street car or other vehicle or in some such .locality as a subway or elevated station. The invention will be .particu- Another object of the invention is the pro- L vision of an improved strip severing mechanism which will insure proper severance of tickets from the supply strip.

These and other objects of the invention, particularly relating to details of construction and operation, will become apparent from the followin description read in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation ofacoin-operated manually powered ticket issuing machine embodying the invention with the coveropened to reveal internal details of construction;

Figure 2 is a similar view in the formof a section taken on a vertical plane behind the coin detecting and controlling mechanism;

Figure 3 is a vertical section similar to Figure 2 buttaken on a plane still furthertoward the rear and showingin particular parts behind the ticket guiding and feeding-elements;

Figure '4 is a further'section taken on a vertical plane still further to'the rear to show various details more clearly;

Figure 5 is a front elevation of the machine;

Figure 6 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical section showing in particular the feeding means and severing-knife;

Figure 7 is a sectionsimilar to Figure '6 but showing certain elements behind those of Figure Figures 8 and 9am fragmentary vertical-sections particularly showing portions-of the coin control mechanism; and

Figure 10 is a diagram illustrating the application of the invention toa motor operated ticket machine.

- of the machine.

The machine as illustrated comprises a housing 2 in which are mounted various supporting frame elements which will be evident and need not be particularly described. These elements serve as mountings for the various movable parts The housing is provided with a hinged door t provided with a lock 6 under the control'of someone authorized to have access to the interior of the machine to replace ticket stock .and to remove accumulated coins. The housing is provided withclamping means 8 engageable with a'post indicatedat to .forming part of the structure of a vehicle .or other carrying device.

.The housing is provided with a slot !2 for the insertion :.of an operating coin indicatedat C in Figure 1. Exposed to view in .thefront of the machine is the handle I4 of an operating lever l6, a'front surface iii of which may have provided thereonaninstruction to Press Down. A ticket chute 20 is arranged to deliver theissued ticket intoa receptacle indicated. at 22 from which thezpatron'may pickupa ticket.

Referring to Figure lit will be noted that the coin slot (2 communicates with a coin chute 24 which delivers a coin to a cointesting device 26 and thence to a machine releasing device 28. These devices are conventional and of types well known in the art of coin operated devices and need not be described in detail since in themselves they form no part of the invention. In brief, they serve to discard coins of Wrong denominations, counterfeits, and slugs and serve to route to the releasing mechanism only proper coins of the correct denomination.

Referring to Figures 8 and 9 there are disclosed thereinthe releasing elements. A shaft so carries a member 32 which is provided with a pocket for the reception of a coin C so that when the coin is present in the pocket it will cam outwardly a pin 34 of a spring controlled detent member 36 which, in the absence of a coin, will prevent more than a limited rotation of the shaft 30. A full-stroke mechanism is provided by a detent 38 cooperating with teeth Ml carried by the member 32 which has relieved portions 42 and M. This also is conventional and insures that'once the shaft 39 has been rotated through a smallarc clockwise as viewed in Figures 8 and 9, the shaft cannot return to a counterclockwise position until it is given a full-stroke which brings the relieved portion 42 opposite the detent 38. Thereafter, if the shaft 30 has a predetermined degree of counterclockwise movement, it cannot be again moved-clockwise until it has been returned substantially to its extreme counterclockwise position. These elements are also conventional. The operation of the novel portion of the present mechanism depends upon the imparting to the shaft .30 of a full clockwise movement followed by a full counterclockwise restoring movement to its original position. Figure 8 illustrates the original position and Figure 9 illustrates a later position of the parts attained after a predetermined initial clockwise movement of the shaft 30.

Referring now particularly to Figure 4, the lever 56 is pivoted at 46 and urged upwardly by a strong spring 48 against a stop pin 50. Pivoted to the lever I6 at 52 is a link 54 provided with ratchet teeth 56 held in mesh with a pinion 58 by a backing roller 60. The pinion 56 has its hub secured to the shaft 30 so that oscillating movements are imparted to the shaft by movement of the lever I6.

A bell 62 is provided which will sound to indicate proper operation of the machine. A hammer 64 is carried by a lever 66 pivoted at 68 which lever is provided with a flat portion 10 arranged to be engaged fiatwise by a corresponding portion of a lever 12 pivoted at 14 and urged clockwise by a spring 16 anchored at a fixed pin 66. This arrangement is such that normally the hammer 64 is held slightly spaced from the bell to prevent muflling of the sound of the bell after it is struck. It will be noted that the terminus 18 of the fiat 10 is slightly to the left of the center 01 the pivot 68.

A link 80 is pivoted to the lever 66 at 82 and is urged upwardly and counterclockwise about its pivot by a spring 84 which is effectively weaker than the spring 16 and tends to hold the link 80 in contact with the pin 86. The upper end 88 of the link 80 is flat and is located below a pin 90 carried by the lever I6. As will be evident from the relationship of the parts in Figure 4, as the lever I6 is depressed the pin 90 will drive the link 86 downwardly and will rock the lever 66 clockwise, the point 18 forcing the lever 12 counterclockwise against the action of spring 16. As the pin 96 moves downwardly it will rock toward the left and eventually clear the link 80 whereupon the strong spring 16 through the lever 12 will rock the lever 66 sharply counterclockwise with the result that by virtue of overrun its hammer 64 will strike the bell, being immediately released by the restoration of the levers 12 and 66 to the position illustrated in Figure 4. Upon returnof the lever I6 the pin 90 will again move above the link 80 which will rock toward its initial counterclockwise position restoring the parts for a further bell-striking operation.

Referring now to Figure 3 a cam 92 is carried by a hub 63 secured to the hub of the pinion 58 and accordingly to the shaft 30. The cam 92 operates between a roller 94 and a pin 96 carried by a link 98 which is pivoted at I to a disc I02 pivoted on a fixed pin II4. A spring I04 is anchored to the frame and acts on an arm extending laterally from the link 98 serving. as will be evident from Figure 3, to urge the link 98 both downwardly and counterclockwise so that its lower end will normally occupy the position illustrated in Figure 3 with respect to the cam 92. The disc I62 is provided with slot I06 into which extends a pin I08 carried by an arm I I0 secured to a. huh I I2 journalled on the pin I I4. A second arm I62 (Figure 6) also carried by the hub II4 forms with the arm III) a yoke carrying a knife H6 provided with a cam-like extension II8 serving to engage and suitably deflect a yielding spring-like fixed blade I20 which is secured to the frame at I22. As will appear the movable knife I I6 has an arcuate movement which causes its sharpened edge to be brought into severing relationship with the cooperating sharpened edge of the yielding blade I20, the extension I I8 serving to produce slight movement of the yielding blade I20 so as to insure the proper cutting relationship between the blade edges.

A pawl I24 is pivoted on the pin I88 and is urged in a clockwise direction as viewed in Figure '1 by a spring I26 which reacts between the pawl and the lever IIO. On fixed pins I28 and I3. there are pivoted a pair of detents I32 and I34 which are urged respectively counterclockwise and clockwise by a spring I36 connected to these detents. The detent I32 is provided with an ear I38 extending forwardly as viewed in Figure 7 with which cooperates a pin I40 extending rearwardly from the tail portion of the pawl I24.

A disc I42 is carried by a hub I44 which is journalled on the hub II2. This disc is provided with a series of separate projections I46 and, as indicated in Figure '1, the pawl I24 rests on the periphery of the disc I42 slightly to the rear of one of the projections I46 while the detents I32 and I34 embrace between them another of the projections I to prevent movement of the disc in either direction.

A pinwheel I48 is carried by the hub I44 and has a series of ticket strip feeding pins corresponding in number and indexing to the projections I46. A slotted ticket strip guide blade I50 extends about the periphery of the pinwheel, the slot providing clearance for the passage of the pins of the pinwheel I48. A cover member I52 contoured to correspond to the guide I50 is pivoted at I53 and. serves to hold the ticket strip against the guide I50 so as to insure that the openings in the ticket strip are properly engaged by a plurality of pins of the pinwheel, this cover member being slotted to provide clearance for rotation of the pins. It is provided with an ear I56 with which there engages the spring I58 normally holding it in downward position.

To prevent operation when the ticket strip approaches exhaustion a finger I60 is provided which is pivoted at I62 so as to be held in a clockwise position, compared With that illustrated in Figure 6, when there is a ticket strip threaded in the machine over the pinwheel. An ear I64 of this finger engages a crank arm I66 (Figure 1) of a shaft I68 journalled in supports in the frame so that whenever ticket strip supply is present and in position to be fed a lateral extension I10 of the shaft I68 is held clear of the coin slot I2, a spring I12 tending to hold this lateral extension in position across the coin slot whenever the finger I60 occupies the position illustrated in Figure 6 so as to prevent the insertion of a coin. Additionally there is provided a lever the end of which at I1I is adapted to be manually positioned across the coin slot I2 by movement of its end I13 whenever it is desired that the machine should not be operated by insertion of a coin, this lever being located within the housing so that it can be positioned to prevent entrance of a coin. this positioning being done by someone authorized to gain access to the interior of the machine. When the machine is to be operated this lever is withdrawn so as not to prevent coin insertion.

A counter I14 is provided to register the issue of tickets, the arm I16 of this counter being connected to a link I18 which is in turn pivoted on a pin I carried by the arm I82 forming part of the knife supporting yoke.

When the machine is in rest position the various parts occupy the positions illustrated in all of the figures except Figure 9. If the ticket supply strip is in position to be fed by the pinwheel the finger I42 is depressed by the ticket strip and accordingly the coin slot is open. The insertion of a proper coin will result in its passing into the position illustrated in Figure .8 so that the shaft 30 is capable of being moved when the lever I6 is rocked downwardly.

As the lever I6 is moved downwardly the cam 22 is rotated in a clockwise direction as viewed in Figure 3 and serves by acting on the roller 94 carried by the link 98 to raise this link against the action of spring 34 which spring also holds the link in contact with the fixed disc 99. The lifting of the link rotates the disc I02 and through its slot I46 the pin I08 so as to rotate the knife H6 and its carrying yoke in clockwise direction as viewed in Figure *2. The pin I88 carries the pawl I24 so that the pin I49 will engage the ear I38 of the detent I32. Since the pawl H4 is re strained from clockwise movement by reason of its resting on the disc I42 the pin I42 will effect clockwise rotation of the detent I32 to release the projection I46 which was engaged thereby just prior to the engagement of another projection I46 by the pawl I24. Accordingly, the disc I42 and the pinwheel I42 are released for strip feeding rotation and pawl I24 drives the pinwheel through a fifth of a rotation advancing the ticket strip through a length corresponding to one ticket, which length is defined by the spacing between the centers of adjacent holes in the strip. The strip is fed over the guide I56 and below the cover I52, being projected below the end of the fixed knife I29, the movable knife having been now moved sufficiently clockwise to clear an opening for the passage of the strip. As soon as a slight advance has been given to the disc 542 the detent I32 will be released and will rest first on the top of a projection I43 and then on the periphery of the disc in position to engage and arrest the next projection. At the completion of thefull-stroke the next projection will clear the detent I34 and will be arranged between it and detent I32 so that a precise fifth of a revolution is imparted to the pinwheel.

At this end of the stroke the cam 92 will clear the roller 94 so that the link 98 will snap downwardly under the action of spring I54 with resulting reversal of rotation of the disc Hi2 and the movable knife which will snap suddenly upwardly to sever the projected portion of the ticket strip by cooperation with the fixed flexible blade I253. The severed ticket will drop through the chute 20 into the receptacle 22. In the reverse movement the pin I40 of the pawl I24 will engage the ear I38 to be cammed inwardly thereby and ultimately pass the rear of this ear so that the pawl I24 will be restored into the position illustrated in Figure '7 in advance of the next projection I45.

The ringing of the bell will, of course, occur during the downward stroke of the lever is as previously described. The oscillation of the knife will advance the counter I'lfi to register the issue of a ticket. During the downward movement or" the lever it the coin which released the mechanism will drop into the coin receptacle 22.

The release of the lever It for upward movement will rotate the cam e2 in a counterclockwise direction and this will cam the roller 94 toward the left as viewed in Figure 3 against the action of spring I44 until the roller is cleared whereupon the link 22 will be rocked by the spring I44 to the position illustrated in Figure 3. If it should happen that due to the accumulation of dirt or other cause the link 28 was not fully restored by the spring I94 this will be additionally insured by the action of the spring 48 through the action of the lower side of the cam $2 on the pint-5. All of the parts are accordingly restored to their initial positions.

A coin return, not shown, may be provided in the door 4 to return to a. patron coins which are of an incorrect denomination to release the mechanism.

It will be evident from the foregoing that there is provided, in accordance with the invention, a simple and compact mechanism for a handpowered machine which will insure proper issuance of 'a precise ticket length with completely effective locking of the ticket strip advancing means to prevent the possibility that any tickets may be pulled through the mechanism without the insertion of the proper number of coins. It will be noted that the pinwheel is released to the extent that it might be given more than a fifth of a revolution only during a very restricted phase of the operation and also only at a time prior to the opening of any space betwen the knives, i. e., only following rocking of the detent I32 clear of the engaged projection I46 until slight advance of disc I42 by the pawl I24 after which the detent is again released by pin I49. As a result, it is quite impossible for anyone to seize an issuing ticket and attempt to secure more than one during an operation.

It will be evident that the mechanism may be utilized in machines which are not coin-controlled, this end being merely achieved by leaving the shaft 32 free for motion at any time.

The mechanism may also be motor driven and asimple mode of accomplishing this is illustrated in Figure ID.

A motor I84 drives reduction gearing, indicated at I86 and I88, the shaft let which carries a cam I92 corresponding to the cam. 92 previously described which is arranged to act upon a roller I94 carried by a link I98, these respectively corresponding to the elements 94 and 98 previously referred to. A solenoid 28B is connected to the power line 222 through a manually operable key switch 224 which may be located in any convenient position. An armature 268 normally retracted by a spring 203 serves as a latch for a member 210 pivoted at H2 and urged clockwise by a spring 2M, its clockwise movement being subject to limitation by a stop pin 2 I6. The member 2 I 8 is provided with a projecting portion 2 I8 arranged to act upon the upper member of a switch having contacts 226 which are in series with the motor M4 and the line. The member 2 It carries at its upper end a pin 222 engageable by the cam I92.

As will be evident, the mechanism may be essentially similar to that previously described with the exception of the hand lever l6 and its operation connections which may be omitted.

The operation of the modification in accordance with Figure 10 is as follows:

Contact is provided at 224 momentarily to enersize the solenoid 262. This will retract the detent 226 permitting the member 2 I E) to rock clockwise to close the contacts at 229 and thus energize the motor. The motor will thereupon drive the cam I92 clockwise so that it acts upon the roller I94 moving it upwardly and thereafter releasing it in the same fashion as previously described in connection with the hand-operated machine. A ticket will accordingly be issued and cut off as previously detailed. In the case of this present machine, however, the cam I92 does not oscillate but rather rotates continuously in the clockwise direction. As it approaches the rest position which is illustrated in Figure 10 it will engage the pin 222 rocking the member 2 I counterclockwise so that the motor circuit is broken and the member is positioned to be engaged by the detent 206 which will have been released by the release of the button 204. The overrun of the cam I92 will cause it to pass the pin 222 so that the parts will be restored to their initial positions. It will, accordingly, be evident that a momentary depression of the button will cause the machine to pass through a single cycle for the issuance of a ticket. It will, of course, be evident that this machine may also be coin-controlled merely by preventing the solenoid circuit from being closed unless a proper coin is inserted.

What is claimed is:

1. A ticket issuing machine comprising means for guiding a ticket strip, means for feeding a ticket strip along said guiding means, and means for severing tickets from said strip, said feeding means comprising a rotary pin wheel engageable in openings in said ticket strip, a toothed mem ber moving with said pin wheel, an oscillatory element mounted concentrically with said pin wheel and toothed member, means for imparting oscillatory movements to said element, and a pawl carried by said element and engageable with teeth on said toothed member, and said severing means comprising a movable blade, carried by said element, and a relatively fixed blade.

2. A ticket issuing machine comprising means for guiding a ticket strip, means for feeding a ticket strip along said guiding means, and means for severing tickets from said strip, said feeding means comprising a rotary pin Wheel engageable in openings in said ticket strip, a toothed member moving with said pin wheel, an oscillatory element mounted concentrically with said pin wheel and toothed member, means for imparting oscillatory movements to said element, and a pawl carried by said element and engageable with teeth on said toothed member, and said severing means comprising a movable blade, carried by said element, and a relatively fixed, flexible blade.

3. A ticket issuing machine comprising means for guiding a ticket strip, means for feeding a ticket strip along said guiding means, and means for severing tickets from said strip, said feeding means comprising a rotary pin wheel engageable in openings in said ticket strip, a toothed member moving with said pin wheel, an oscillatory element mounted concentrically with said pin wheel and toothed member, means for imparting oscillatory movements to said element, and a pawl carried by said element and engageable with teeth on said toothed member, and said severing means comprising a movable blade, carried by said element, and a relatively fixed blade, and said means for imparting oscillatory movements to said element comprising an actuating member, a spring urging said actuating member in one direction, and an element constructed and arranged to move said actuating member in opposition to said spring.

4. A ticket issuing machine comprising means for guiding a ticket strip, means for feedin a ticket strip along said guiding means, and means for severing tickets from said strip, said feeding means comprising a rotary pin wheel engageable in openings in said ticket strip, a toothed member moving with said pin wheel, an oscillatory element mounted concentrically with said pin wheel and toothed member, means for imparting oscillatory movements to said element, and a pawl carried by said element and engageable with teeth on said toothed member, and said severing means comprisin a movable blade, carried by said element, and a relatively fixed blade, and said means for imparting oscillatory movements to said element comprising an actuating member, a spring urging said actuating member in one direction, and an element constructed and arranged to move said actuating member in opposition to said spring and to release said actuating member for rapid movement under the action of said spring, said rapid movement serving to effect movement of the movable blade to sever the ticket strip.

5. A ticket issuing machine comprising means for guiding a ticket strip, means for feeding a ticket strip along said guiding means, and means for severing tickets from said strip, said feeding means comprising a rotary pin wheel engageable in openings in said ticket strip, a toothed member moving with said pin wheel, an oscillatory element mounted concentrically with said pin wheel and toothed member, means for imparting oscillatory movements to said element, and a pawl carried by said element and engageable with teeth on said toothed member, and said severing means comprising a movable blade, carried by said element, and a relatively fixed blade, and said means for imparting oscillatory movements to said element comprising an actuating member, a spring urging said actuating member in one direction, and a cam constructed and arranged to move said actuating member in opposition to said spring.

6. A ticket issuing machine comprising means for guiding a ticket strip, means for feeding a ticket strip along said guiding means, and means for severing tickets from said strip, said feeding means comprising a rotary pin wheel engageable in openings in said ticket strip, a toothed member moving with said pin wheel, an oscillatory element mounted concentrically with said pin wheel and toothed member, means for imparting oscillatory movements to said element, and a pawl carried by said element and engageable with teeth on said toothed member, and said severing means comprising a movable blade, carried by said element, and a relatively fixed blade, said fixed and movable blades overlapping when said machine is in rest position to close the path of advance of the ticket strip,

REUBEN H. HELSEL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,074,607 Coe et a1. Oct. 7, 1913 1,080,138 Coe Dec. 2, 1913 1,162,128 Briegel et al Nov. 30, 1915 1,337,837 Gore Apr. 20, 1920 1,435,062 Helsel Nov. 7, 1922 1,703,937 Johnson Mar. 5, 1929 1,788,949 Grunwald Jan. 31, 1931 1,933,840 Bolen Nov. 7, 1933 2,061,389 Soltz Nov. 17, 1936 2,102,860 Stoner Dec. 21, 1937 2,374,464 Skriba Apr. 24, 1945 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 31,535 Austria Jan. 25, 1908 

